Tear-strip type container and reclosure therefor



' N v- 947- 1. D. THORNBURGH arm. 2,430,036

I TEAR-STRIP TYPE} CONTAINER Ami RECLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Dec. 11, 1944 z Sheets- Sheet 1 7;. I I 0 7} 2/ i AT TOE/VEYS 1947- l. D. TH ORNBURGH ETAL ,4 6 TEAR-STRIP TYPE CONTAINER. AND RECLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Dec. 11, 1944 2 Shets -Sheet 2 @INVENTORS BYM'WM/ Patented Nov. 4, 1947 TEAR-s'rnne TYPE CONTAINER AND RECLOSURE THEREFOR Ivan D.'-Thornburgh, Leonia, and Frank W. Goodrich,-Newark, N. J., assignors to Ameri' r can-Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 11, 1944, Serial No. 567,660

The present invention relates to a'metal airinterior collar arranged inside of the tearing strip and has particular reference to a container of this type which can be reclosed with an air-tight seal after the containeris opened by removal of the tearing strip and in reclosingpositio'n: will be securely locked by engagement of the cover with the collar.

The usual hermetically sealed container when once opened by removal of the tearing strip can only be re-covered as contradistinguished from rescaled by the detached can cover: It is true that when the can isopened air comes into ,con-

tact with the product; and this air is presentandordinarily cannot be removed.- For manyproducts the circulation of air in the'open-container is not objectionable especially when the remaining product is quickly consumed .q .z .i

Some products, such forexample as coffee, dried milk and other powdered dairy products, will keep much better if additional air is prevented from circulating into and through that, portion of the product which has not been removed and which remains in the open can. In other words an air-tight reclosure for cans of this general type is desirable and the. present invention contemplates an improved can construction of an; interior collar can which .is, so designed as to insure a simple andefilcient air-tight reclosure without impairing in any way the efliciency of an easily opened hermetically sealed can.

An object of the present invention is the vprovision of an improved construction for a tearing strip container having an interior collar where- 1 in, in addition to the usual air-tight sealing of the can when it is initially closed on its contained product, there is also provided an air-tight reclosure. 7 V r l Another object of the invention is the provision of a tearing strip container having an interior collar which is so formed as to adapt that part of the can for air-tight rescaling by the reclosure cover which has been removed in opening the can. g Y '1 Yet another object is the provision of an easily opened tearing strip collar container wherein the cover has double gasket lined regions, the reclosure cover being formed in such a manner as to provide locking engagement with the collar of the opened can as in a bayonet joint, thereby insuring an air-tight sealing reclosure whichfin no way impairs the. initial opening and subsequent reopenings of the can. i Numerous other objects and advantages 7 of the 1 Claim. (01.220-54) tight tearing strip-containeror can having an 2 invention will be apparent as it is better unders'tood'from the following description, which; taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a'perspective View of a tearing strip container embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is partly a sectional view and partly an elevation drawn to an enlarged scale with parts broken'away the position of the section being taken substantially along the lines 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to the sectional View of Fig. 2 but taken in a different position radially of the can;

a "Fig. 4 is a sectional View similar to Fig. 3 illustrating theposit ion of parts after the container has been opened and reclosed; and

Fl'g.'5iS a plan sectional view of the container rtaken substantially along line '5-5 in Fig. 4, but

drawn to a smaller scale.

The present invention may be applied to a container having a body H and end closures l2 secured to the body in double seams I3. The novelty of the container illustrating the present invention is associated with its upper or top end while-the usual conventional bottom end may be used.

Adjacent the top and just below the upper end seam 13 the body wall- H is scored with a pair of 'parallel score lines preferably cut on the inside surface of the container body-wall.

These include a lower score line l5 and an upper score line [6 setting off a tearing strip'l'l; 'At

vthe side seamof the container the tearing strip terminates in an extended tongue I8 which provides for engagement-of the usual opening key. 'The body wall above the score line l6 merges into the top double seam and a sealing gasket l9 located in the usual sealing gasket channel is interposed'between the body and cover parts in the conventional double seam. This portion of the body wall which is detached from the rest of the body wall I l by removal of the tearing strip" and which remains with the top end 12 is designated jbynnumeral 20. v g A collar 2| islocated in the can body I I and in of ,asoldered-jointfl which extends all of the way around the collar at or adjacent its lower edge.

The collar 2! above the bead 22 extends in close engagement with the body wall to a position just above the upper score line Hi. The collar wall then bends inwardly at a rounded annular corner 25 to merge into a conical-wall 26 which extends upwardly and inwardly at about 45 from the horizontal. The upper portion of the conical wall terminates in an inwardly curled edge or friction seat 2?, this curl being open and slightly resilient and providing a smooth mouth for the container when open.

The top end [2 when in seamed position extends downwardly inside the body wall section 20 and inside of the top double seam it to a depth just below the double seam. This is the usual chuck countersink for the can cover. This countersunk wall merges into a rounded corner 3i which forms a connection for an integral inverted conical wall 32. At the top, the conical wall bends over in the form of an annular arched section 33 .which extends down into a vertical friction wall 34. At the bottom the friction wall 34 merges into a rounded corner which directly connects with an upwardly and inwardly extending conical wall 36 which is substantially parallel to but is inside of the conical wall 32. Wall 36 merges by way of a'rounded corner 31 into a flat central panel 38.

The annular arched section 33 which joins the inverted conical wall 32 with the friction wall 3 3 provides an inwardly spaced reclosure gasket channel for a sealing gasket 39. It will be apparent that the gasket l9 of the double seam is and the gasket 38 of the spaced reclosure gasket channel constitute dual gasket sealing regions for the can cover.

When thecover I2 is first seamed onto the body I I, the vertical friction wall 34 of the cover fric- =When the tearing strip H is removed and the container is opened, the cover is detached from the container merely by lifting it from its seated position. When the cover is again applied to the opened container for rescaling of the container, it is again brought into position so that the friction wall of the cover engages inside of the collar. From this position, the cover is pressed down into the container so that the vertical wall 34 of the cover slides along the inside of the friction seat curl 21 of the collar. In its fully reclosed position, the can parts are as shown in Fig. 4, the collar curl 21 then being embedded in the sealing gasket 39 of the cover.

.Provision is made for positively locking the re- ,moved cover onto the can in its reclosing and resealing position. For this purpose the body wall portion Zihwhich it will be recalled was above the upper score line It, is formedso thatit may be ,locked with the collar. projecting protuberances or buttons 42 are equally A plurality of inwardly 4 protuberance 42. Each bayonet slot is composed of a vertical groove M which extends down from the corner 25 of the collar and merges into an angular transversely extending groove 45. At the time the can cover is seamed on to the can body the protuberances 2 in the body wall are disposed above the collar corner 25 and therefore it is not necessary that the cover be oriented in any particular relation to the can body.

After removal of the tearing strip and opening of the can and When the cover is to be applied in a reclosing position it is necessary first to position the cover relative to the open container, so that each protuberance l2 aligns with the corresponding groove section M of the bayonet joint 53. From such an aligned position the cover can be pressed down to bring each protuberance into the open end of the associated transverse groove 45.

When this lowered position is reached, it is merely necessary to give the cover a slight rotation to move the protuberance 42 along the transverse groove sections 15 and in so doing the angular ceiling edge of each transverse groove acting on its protuberance causes a positive looking of the cover into its reclosure position. It is during this partial rotation of the cover relative to the container that the gasket 38 is pressed down against the open resilient yielding curl 2! of the collar 2! so that this curl is embedded in the gasket. This provides an air-tight or hermetic reclosure for the opened container.

Such a can may be reopened and reclosed a number of times, it bein necessary in removing the reclosure cover merely to give the cover a slight rotation in an opposite direction so that the protuberances 42 ride up on the lower incline of the groove sections 45 into alignment with the corresponding vertical groove sections 44. In this position, the cover may be lifted from the container.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

We claim:

In an air-tight sheet metal container capable of air-tight reclosure, a container body having score lines defining a removable tearing strip for opening the container, a collar located inside of said body and hermetically secured thereto, said collar being disposed opposite to and inside of said tearing strip and inclined inwardly and upwardly and terminating in a friction seat adjacent the top of the incline, a container cover secured to said body and extending inwardly and upwardly parallel with and spaced above said in.- clined collar and curved inwardly to form an inner reclosure gasket channel and thence extending downwardly to form a friction wall fitting within said friction seat of the collar in an initial position and after the container has been opened fitting in another reclosure position with the inclined walls of said cover and collar in closely adjacent position, said cover-havingan outer primary sealing gasket channel, separate sealing gaskets in said inner and outer cover channels for hermetically sealing thecover on the container body by the primary sealin gasket only when the cover is in its initial position and 5 for hermetically sealing the opened container by said reclosure gasket engaged between said collar and the cover in its reclosure position after the tearing strip has been removed.

IVAN D. THORNBURGH. FRANK W. GOODRICH.

REFERENCES CITED file of this patent:

Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Widell Mar. 15, 1927 Hothersall Nov, 27, 1934 Graver Aug. 27, 1929 Hopkins Sept. 2'7, 1932 Punte May 24, 1932 Karl Jan. 14, 1936 Young June 4, 1929 Sebell Dec. 15, 1942 

